🛞 A year and 4,000 cleared tires later | Morning Newsletter
And Fetterman’s Democratic critics.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Good morning, Philly, and good news if you’re heading to the Phillies’ home opener tomorrow: Temps are forecast to be around 70. Today doesn’t look so bad, either, with a high in the mid-50s.
A year after 4,000 tires were found dumped, Tacony Creek Park is much cleaner. Now, a new preserve awaits.
And Sen. John Fetterman’s support for President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security nominee has made his bad relationship with fellow Democrats even worse.
Plus, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s proposed $1-per-ride tax on rideshare services gets a mixed response from City Council, and more news of the day.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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Tacony Creek Park in Crescentville last March faced one of the most severe dumping cases Philadelphia had seen: 4,000 tires stretching more than 100 feet, left to rot in a ravine.
🛞 The removal took a 100-person chain and spurred a partnership between the nonprofit Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership and the city.
🛞 A year later, their work has largely stuck: The site, along with seven other dumping hot spots in Tacony Creek Park, has been cleared and secured. More neighbors are visiting. Next up, a 49-acre nature preserve is set to become the park’s new entrance in April.
🛞 But the fight against illegal dumping is ongoing, and involves blocking vehicle access to the park, new fencing, cameras, and higher fines.
Environment reporter Frank Kummer has more on the strategy to mitigate dumping hot spots.
More on parks: Critics of FDR Park’s renovation, which includes the cutting of dozens of heritage trees, will appeal a court decision after a blow to their case.
“Trump’s favorite Democrat.” Trump’s “intern.” “A weak man’s imitation of a tough man.”
Democrats are ramping up their criticism of Sen. John Fetterman after he cast the tiebreaking vote last week to advance President Trump’s DHS nominee, Markwayne Mullin, out of the Senate Homeland Security Committee. Mullin was confirmed on Monday.
While Fetterman’s diversion from the party line is not new, the Mullin vote and his support of the president’s actions in Iran have sparked calls for his replacement from colleagues who were previously less explicit.
Responding to public criticism from Democrats, Fetterman has repeatedly said he is putting “country over party.” Yet poll numbers also show waning support among Democratic voters. Experts say it could mean a tough path to reelection in 2028 — which could open a potential path to the senatorship for some of his loudest critics.
Politics reporter Sam Janesch has the story.
In other DHS news: Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrived at Philadelphia International Airport on Tuesday. Some were stationed at security checkpoints while others patrolled the airport. The president of a union for Transportation Security Administration employees said they did “nothing.”
What you should know today
For three years, a Philadelphia woman studied the face of her son’s accused killer on a website. On Tuesday, she finally saw him in court.
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill plans to sign bills into law that would ban ICE agents from wearing masks, protect residents’ immigration data, and enshrine the state’s sanctuary policy into law.
Members of the Pennsylvania House on Tuesday approved new regulations for data centers building in the state, their first effort to shape the already booming market.
On the first day of City Council’s six weeks of planned budget hearings, Mayor Parker’s proposed rideshare tax to benefit the Philadelphia School District got a mixed response from lawmakers.
Ninety percent of Philly government contracts are late, a new Pew study found. Nonprofits wind up having to dip into reserves or even borrow money.
Some Lower Merion parents want to “opt out” of Chromebooks in classrooms. The district says they can’t.
Moore College of Art and Design will voluntarily recognize the formation of a union among its staff without requiring an election.
More than 3,000 No Kings rallies are scheduled for Saturday, including several in the region. Road closures are expected in the city.
PHL set the Guinness World Record for longest line of cheesesteaks — 1,291 lined up end to end — on Tuesday, National Cheesesteak Day.
Quote of the day
After the New York Times reported on sexual abuse allegations against late Mexican American civil rights leader César Chavez — specifically by top ally Dolores Huerta — Mural Arts has decided to remove Chavez’s image from a sprawling mural in Fairhill called “Latinoamerica: Una Lengua, Multiples Culturas.”
🧠 Trivia time
A Baltimore-based rom-com author caught heat for including a line in her new book about ordering what from Wawa?
A) Nacho cheeseburger, no bun
B) Peanut butter and jelly
C) Lunchables
D) A “sub”
Think you know? Check your answer.
What and whom we’re ...
🥊 Saying goodbye (for now) to: The Rocky statue at the base of the Art Museum steps.
🧀 Bringing: These five excellent cheesesteaks into Citizens Bank Park.
⛸️ Watching: These Aston-trained British ice dancers at the World Championships.
📐 Peeping: One of the world’s best Minimalist art collections, found in a Rittenhouse Square townhouse.
🗳️ Considering: Whether it’s time to pass legislation in Pennsylvania permitting independents to vote in primaries.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Food delivery app
SHAD ODOR
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Laur-Jor Warner, who solved Tuesday’s anagram: Love Is Blind. The reality show has been spotted filming at restaurants around the city.
Photo of the day
💡 One last creative thing: South Philly artist Eric Brunner turned to sculpture to help him and his family process his ALS diagnosis. The Flickering Souls: Illuminating ALS installation features 256 portraits of people around the world with the disease.
Thanks for starting your day with The Inquirer. See you back here tomorrow.
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